James Kennedy chats with Kenny Jen – fractional CFO and co-founder of QuantFi – about the art & science of vendor management: sourcing, sampling, negotiating, and building real partnerships that scale. From break-dancing combo “models” in Excel to modeling CPG margins, Kenny shares practical playbooks for testing products cheaply, picking the right factories/brokers, and sequencing channels (DTC → retail) so your unit economics actually work. He also demystifies cannabis/CBD finance: distribution constraints, banking/payments, tax traps, and why hemp-derived low-dose beverages are changing the game.
About Kenny Jen
Kenny began in investment banking, moved into venture capital supporting portfolio companies on fundraising & FP&A, then led supply chain + finance at a Los Angeles cannabis brand. Today at QuantFi he provides fractional CFO and strategic finance services to CPG/startups – specializing in pricing, margin structure, vendor strategy, and channel modeling.
What You’ll Learn
- Vendor Sourcing, the Right Way: Why to start with product love first, then back into suppliers; use samples and small promo runs to test capability and responsiveness.
- When to Use Brokers vs. Direct: How experienced brokers de-risk factory selection (materials, MOQs, tooling, lead times) and when a site visit pays off.
- Margin Math by Channel: Work backward from retail price → wholesale → COGS → S&M to set target margins and decide DTC first for validation.
- Product–Channel Fit: Packaging and design must pop in the channel context (shelf, Amazon scroll), not just in a vacuum.
- Cannabis/CBD Finance Reality: Banking hurdles, card-network limits, cash handling, and the tax hit of being taxed at gross profit – plus the rise of hemp-derived, low-dose (Δ9) beverages opening mainstream distribution.
Episode Highlights
- “I evaluate factories by how they iterate on feedback – not just by their first sample.”
- “Start with 5–7 vendors, demand samples, measure responsiveness, and track changes like a hiring process.”
- “It’s okay to run sub-scale tests at thin margins – you’re buying answers on product & channel.”
- “Packaging has to win on the shelf/on the feed, not just on your desk.”
- “In cannabis, distribution + payments + 280E-style taxes are the economics. Hemp-derived low-dose flips the script.”
Mini Playbooks
- Sampling & Validation: Request fully specced samples; run a 500–1,000 unit promo or event giveaway; judge quality + speed + comms; then scale SKUs.
- Vendor Relationship Building: Start small, be specific on specs, pay fairly for iterations, give structured feedback, and visit for big bets/tooling.
- Tooling the Process: Track vendors, specs, and iterations in Excel/Notion early; graduate to vendor-management tooling as vendor count and budgets grow.
